South Africa players to join IPL on April 3 after Netherlands ODI series

Cricket South Africa has taken the step because South Africa must beat the Netherlands in the ODI series to qualify for the 2023 World Cup.

Most SA players, including Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, David Miller, and Aiden Markram, will arrive in India four days after the competition begins on March 31. Cricket South Africa (CSA) has informed the BCCI that it wants all of its best players available for the two-match home ODI series against the Netherlands, which begins in late March.

The CSA has taken this action because SA must win the series against the Netherlands to qualify for the 2023 World Cup in India later this year. The Netherlands announced a strong lineup this week for the series in Zimbabwe, followed by the ODIs in SA. The series is part of the ODI Super League, with the SA games set for March 31 and April 2, respectively, in Benoni and Johannesburg.

The development will impact up to six of the ten IPL franchises. SA players play for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen), Delhi Capitals (Nortje, Lungi Ngidi), Mumbai Indians (Tristan Stubbs, perhaps Dewald Brevis), Gujarat Titans (Miller), Lucknow Super Giants (Quinton de Kock), and Punjab Kings (Rabada).

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Last December, a day before the IPL auction, the BCCI told franchisees in a memorandum on overseas player availability that contracted South African players would be available on March 29, two days before the IPL launch. But, CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki told ESPNcricinfo that the BCCI had been explainedAfrican contracted players were required to play in the Holland series.

The top eight ODI Super League clubs will automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup, while the worst five will compete in World Cup Qualifiers alongside five Associate teams. SA, now ranked ninth, competes with the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Ireland for a direct World Cup entry. “The BCCI recognises the significance of the Holland series in our automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup,” Moseki added.

This is not the first time the IPL has clashed with a bilateral home series. SA’s Test series against Bangladesh fought with the tournament’s commencement last March, but the CSA then urged the players to decide whether to stay in SA or travel to India. The players chose to be entirely available for the IPL, and CSA was forced to select the best team possible because a World Cup berth was at stake.